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NHL Picks

NHL Picks: Ducks vs. Flames

The Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks have both started the season in different fashions. Where should we place our NHL picks when these two teams collide tonight?

While the Anaheim Ducks were very impressive
in a 7-3 win in Vancouver over the Canucks on Saturday, the Flames were
disappointing in a 4-1 home loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

Some people weren’t sure what to make of either team
prior to the start of the season but one game has given us a good indication.
The NHL odds makers have set this game as a PICK as the Ducks continue their
west coast swing through Canada on Monday.

They are a surprisingly good team, and they could possibly stir up some noise in the NHL's Western Conference. There were question
marks about their secondary scoring and their blue line prior to the season
starting but a 7-3 win over Vancouver has eased those worried minds. The top
line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan totaled just three points as
the Ducks tallied seven goals. The ageless wonder, Teemu Selanne, had four
points as the Ducks chased Canucks starter Cory Schneider.

The task should be much easier on Monday against the
hapless Flames. Calgary doesn’t have much in the way of offense as they are far
too reliant on a past-his-prime Jarome Iginla. Iggy doesn’t even have top-line
talent to play with, so the Ducks should have an easy time keeping the Flames
under wraps. On top of that, Iginla is also recovering from a groin injury and
while he looked fine on Sunday, a quick turnaround will test his health.

Calgary took six penalties on Sunday night and now find
themselves with short rest on a quick turnaround. They’ll continue to struggle as
a confident Ducks team comes to town.

The Calgary Flames can win because…

Sunday night was just a mulligan. The Flames started
positively as they took an early 1-0 lead on the San Jose Sharks but everything
went sour quickly. Before they knew it, they were down 3-1 and weren’t able to
dig themselves out of it. The Flames should put forth a better effort on Monday
night.

The Flames started really well as they outshot the Sharks
16-9 in the first period and held a one-goal lead. New head coach Bob Hartley
will preach to the team that this is the type of effort he’s looking for. The
Flames were outshot 14-4 in the second and gave up three goals. In all, they
only played one bad period but it cost them.

This is a veteran team that knows how to bounce-back.
They know what needs to be done and having a short turnaround here won’t hamper
them as much as it would in the middle of the season. They’ll be itching to
play better and they’ll get that chance on Monday.

[gameodds]7/218121/43/us[/gameodds]

Outlook & NHL Betting Prediction:

The Ducks typically play well against Calgary and that
shouldn’t change on Monday. The Ducks have won six of the last eight meetings
and should make it seven of nine. Even though they are on the road, they are a
playoff-caliber team and the Flames are not.